There I Grew Up: Remembering Abraham Lincoln's Indiana Youth

by William E. Bartelt

In 1859 Abraham Lincoln covered his Indiana years in one paragraph and two sentences of a written autobiographical statement that included the "We reached our new home about the time the State came into the union. It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals in the woods. There I grew up." William E. Bartelt uses annotation and primary source material to tell the history of Lincoln's Indiana years by those who were there. Bartelt begins with Lincoln's own words written in two short autobiographical sketches in 1859 and 1860, and in the poetry Lincoln wrote following a campaign trip to Indiana in 1844. In 1865 Lincoln's law partner, William H. Herndon, began interviewing Lincoln's family and those who knew Lincoln in Indiana. Bartelt examines Herndon's interviews with Lincoln's stepmother Sarah (Sally) Bush Johnston Lincoln, cousin Dennis Hanks, stepsister Matilda Johnston Hall Moore, neighbors Nathaniel Grigsby, Elizabeth Crawford, and David Turnham, and others who knew Lincoln in Indiana. Also included in the volume are excerpts from Lincoln biographies by William Herndon, Ida Tarbell, Albert Beveridge, and Louis Warren, in which Bartelt analyzes to what extent these authors researched Lincoln's Indiana period. "There I Grew Up": Remembering Abraham Lincoln's Indiana Youth reveals, through the words of those who knew him, Abraham Lincoln's humor, compassion, oratorical skills, and thirst for knowledge, and it provides an overview of Lincoln's Indiana experiences, his family, the community where the Lincolns settled, and southern Indiana during the years 1816 to 1830.

Genres: History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2008

Reviews

[David Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly readable and important book on Lincoln's formative years in Indiana. The author, William Bartelt, a retired high school teacher and adjunct university instructor, is one of the foremost experts on Lincoln's Indiana years, having also served in various capacities at Lincoln's Boyhood National Memorial and other Abraham Lincoln organizations. This book builds on the work of others, but is infused with Bartelt's own expansive research and knowledge of a still less understood period of Lincoln's early life.

"There I Grew Up" is organized into three main sections, each containing multiple chapters. The first section relies on Lincoln's own words to recall his time in Indiana. These are derived from three contemporaneous accounts written by him. The first is an autobiographical sketch he provided at the request of Illinois friend and influencer Jesse W. Fell in 1859. Fell provided the material to news outlets, who incorporated the information into widely copied bios as Lincoln was riding the celebrity of the previous year's Lincoln-Douglas debates. Bartelt includes full passages of all the sections related to Indiana, then expands on them to discuss Indiana life in general at that time in addition to Lincoln family life. He does the same with a second autobiographical account Lincoln provided to newspaperman John Locke Scripps in July 1860. This chapter dives deeper into Lincoln's daily life and schooling. Finally, he parses a long poem Lincoln wrote in 1846 after returning from his new home in Illinois to visit "My childhood home I see again."

The second section examines how Lincoln family members remember the time in Indiana. For this section Bartelt relies on the extensive interviewing and corresponding of Lincoln's last law partner, William H. Herndon, with the remaining members of Lincoln's family. Because Lincoln's mother, father, and sister had all died, the family informants were his stepmother Sarah (known as Sally), stepsister Matilda Johnston, and Dennis Hanks (who was Lincoln's mother's cousin, his foster brother, and his stepsister's husband). Each provides insights derived from their personal experiences living in the Lincoln household during the Indiana years. The longest chapter is the one based on Herndon's interviews and letters with Dennis Hanks, although most agree that Hanks was perhaps prone to exaggeration and therefore not a completely reliable source of information.

The final section again relies largely on Herndon's interviews of Lincoln's neighbors, while also bringing in a variety of other reminiscences. Most reliable was information provided by Nathaniel Grigsby and Elizabeth Crawford, but several others provided extensive background on Lincoln's youth.

For these latter two sections Bartelt prints entire pages of Herndon's interview notes still in Herndon's unique style (filled with dashes and the kind of short notes of someone desperately trying to capture every word of a conversation). While such passages are somewhat disruptive of the narrative flow, they are incredibly important to the reader's understanding of the patchwork of information from which a narrative had to be derived. When viewing Herndon's notes in their original form (which can also be seen in the book, "Herndon's Informants" edited by Lincoln scholars Douglas L. Wilson and Rodney O. Davis) one gets a better sense of how difficult it was for Herndon, and then collaborator Jesse Weik, to synthesize the material into a cohesive biography. Following each passage, Bartelt offers his summary or analysis of key points.

Because the book relies on large swaths of passages available elsewhere, there may be a tendency among some readers to argue a lack of originality or new scholarship in the book. Such an argument may have some merits, although applying a similar standard to other books in the 15,000+ Lincoln catalog would likely result in the same critique. But this book is more than a rehash of extant material. Bartelt inserts his own insights into a book that pulls together the totality of sources - not just Herndon's interviews - to provide a comprehensive look into the frontier Indiana where Lincoln grew up. Bringing together memories from Lincoln himself, family, and neighbors gives us insight into both the differences and consistencies of opinion by those who knew him. The result is a concise, yet deeper, look at a lesser known but critical period of Lincoln's life. It is well worth the read.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 2008 by Indiana Historical Society Press.

Most know that Abraham Lincoln came from Springfield, Illinois. But, a lot of people are not aware that at age 7, Lincoln and his family moved to Indiana from Kentucky. Lincoln and his family stayed in Indiana until just after his 21st birthday.

In a four paragraph autobiographical sketch written in 1859, Lincoln devoted a little more than a paragraph to these years in Indiana, including this nice little sentence: "There I grew up."

All of the stories of Lincoln's childhood (reading by firelight, the legend of the rail splitter, his aversion to shedding blood of any sort, his kindness to animals and more) took place in Indiana. Hoosiers are happy to claim him.

The author, William E. Bartelt, worked for fifteen summers at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial as a ranger and historian and was the vice chair of the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. This book is the product of a lot of research and familiarity with the source material.

The first part of this biography goes through the autobiographical sketch mentioned in the second paragraph line-by-line and elaborates on them. It is by far the most interesting part of the book.

Most of the rest of the book is going through the notes of William Herndon (1818-1891), Lincoln's law partner when he was elected President. Very soon after Lincoln's assassination, Herndon decided to write a biography of his friend and set off to Indiana to find people that he grew up with.

Herndon's interview notes are published in this book. They are not particularly interesting reading. Here is a typical sample from page 128: "The Country is a heavy timbered one - farms are cleared and cut out of the forests. The woods - the timber is hickory - white oak, called buck-eye and and buck lands. The old farm now belongs to Jas Gentry - Son of Jas Gentry for whom, the old man the brother of Allen - Lincoln went to N. Orleans in 1828 or 29. John Heaven or Heavener now lives as tenant on the land: it an orchard on it, part of Which Abm Lincoln planted with his own hands..."

I got to the point where I skimmed Herndon's notes and read Bartelt's summary that followed. So many of Herndon's interviews recycled the same information. I assume that he was asking the same questions of each person he interviewed and got a lot of the same answers over and over again.

I rate this book 3 stars out of 5. Solid work, but dry.

See all of my Lincoln-related reviews here: https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/sear...

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

An concise yet thorough summary of Lincoln's formative years in Indiana. Amazingly well researched. It's full of historical detail but so well written the reader's interest is easily maintained.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There I Grew Up: Remembering Abraham Lincoln's Indiana Youth tells the story of the years Abe Lincoln lived in Indiana, my own state. I was drawn to this book because it is written by Bill Bartelt, a distant relative of mine who lives near the area where Lincoln lived and who worked at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial.

Lincoln moved to Indiana in 1816, when he was 7, with his parents and sister. While there, his mom died, and his Dad traveled to their original home in Kentucky to find a new wife. He then returned, and the family remained until 1830, when they moved to Illinois.

Much of the book is made up of source documents, which aren't always easy to read (think "Huck Finn," or that servant in "Wuthering Heights"), but it's interesting to read the thoughts of people who actually lived with Abe.

Some points that stood out:

Abe was kind and a hard worker - although he preferred working mentally to physically.
Abe always loved books. This was a major theme.
Abe's real mom and his step-mom were both impressive, both more so than his dad.

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, It is more a compilation of the earlier work, specifically the work done by a friend of Lincoln that wanted to get a oral history of Lincoln's life from the age of eight till he moved with his family to Illinois when he was 21.

[Susan Y, · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving this book. I am reading it to my Mother and entertaining her while I get to read it myself. I also hope to be keeping her mind sharper.